


The Mercenary And The Noble

by magebae



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Byleth is kinda dense but its okay, F/M, it takes them awhile but they get there eventually, lorenz is in denial, respected allies to lovers, she's still a badass
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-13
Packaged: 2020-08-11 09:57:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20151757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magebae/pseuds/magebae
Summary: Lorenz finds his opinions and beliefs changing as he comes to learn more about Byleth. Byleth wants to learn more about the world outside of her mercenary life.





	1. So This Is The Beginning

He’ll admit that he didn’t think of her as anything special at first. She may have been filled with powerful surprises, but she was still a commoner. A mercenary, even. Such brutish people. There was nothing noble about being paid to fight whoever the client wanted them to. He was of a higher caliber, a noble knight and future count. Byleth was just another one of those commoners. A shame, really. Maybe in another life she’d make a desirable heiress, but as is, she was too uncultured. Of course, he still respected the professor, despite how young she was to be a professor, but in his eyes, she was not a noble lady. 

His opinion did start to change as he saw more of her on the battlefield. He came to admire the way she worked a sword, even more so the Sword of the Creator. It came so natural to her, like she had owned the relic her entire life. Sure, he’d been fascinated in the way others such as Hilda and Marianne worked in battle, but something about the way Byleth commanded the course of the fight left him breathless. It was- dare he say- majestic in its own way. And just how much strength her form held in those moments. He’d found himself staring perhaps too long at her muscled arms. But no, she was a commoner. He could still be friendly, but he couldn’t get too close, lest some capable potential wives get the wrong idea. Byleth was just an important ally. 

At some point during that school year, Byleth had approached him over his attitude with his peers. More specifically, the other girls. Now, he felt justified at the time for his behavior. He even blamed a jealous foe for spreading lies. Oh, how embarrassing he had been back then. Looking back, he regretted how condescending he had been toward Byleth during those conversations. It wasn’t until their second talk on the situation that he realized how problematic he had been. It had really hit him that he had been acting very unnoble. While Byleth usually never emoted beyond simple facial expressions, he still felt the disappointment in her gaze. It made him feel bad to have let his professor down like this. So, he made a promise not just to her, but also to himself, that he would work to become even more respectable, like a true noble. 

After that, he really started to bond with Byleth. With his behavior limited to slight flirting, he began to bond with the mercenary over tea. He thought that mercenaries had no time for noble activities such as tea parties, but Byleth seemed to enjoy these moments. She almost seemed to crave these peaceful, social times, even if she herself didn’t talk as much. Lorenz would happily go on about his day, and she’d happily listen, occasionally asking a question. One day, Lorenz decided he would be the one asking questions.

“Professor. I know that I am very interesting, but I insist on asking you about yourself today.”

Byleth gave him a small smile before responding, “I’ll try to answer what I can.”

He found her simplicity somewhat charming despite his own fancy for the extravagant. However, he was too curious today to be satisfied by such answers. 

“Alright then. I’ll try not to ask you too much. So professor, how old are you exactly?” He didn’t mean for it to sound like an interrogation, but he had always thought it was weird that the woman had become a professor while looking like a student herself.

Byleth appeared to be in deep thought before responding, “I don’t know. It isn’t something I’ve thought much about.”

“What? You can’t be serious.”

“I am though. I don’t really keep track of it, and my father doesn’t remember either. I don’t think he even knows his own age.”

Lorenz couldn’t even comprehend what she said. Was she serious? He knew the woman wasn’t the most aware of her surroundings, but to not even know her age? 

“Well, how old do you think you are?”

“... 20, I guess. Maybe 19,” She said, looking down at her lap while trying to come up with an answer.

“It… makes you unique at least.” He wouldn’t admit it at the time, but he found her clueless nature somewhat endearing. She seemed to live in her own world. Even in battle she moved so differently from everyone else. “I guess that’s how it is when your raised by mercenaries.”

“It was an interesting life… I don’t really call any of the three ruling nations home. And I can’t exactly remember how long I lived in either place. That stuff never really mattered,” she explained, absentmindedly playing with her tea. 

“Maybe it worked for you, but I could never live like that. No offense, of course, but I was made for the noble life.” 

“I know, and that’s what makes you so fun to talk to.” She said with a smile.

“Excuse me?”

“It’s interesting how different we are… I like listening to you talk about all that noble stuff like tea and poetry.” She seemed to be genuine about it, confusing Lorenz. Many commoners wouldn’t dare stay to listen to Lorenz talk about his hobbies. But Byleth seemed to enjoy these conversations.

“Well, I would like to hear about your lifestyle then.”

“... I like… sparring. We were constantly sparring in the mercenary company in order to improve our skills… But you knew that already. Other than that, I used to really like collecting flowers. We couldn’t have a garden, but… I liked to pick flowers and decorate the other mercenaries’ things,” she couldn’t help but smile as she said it. She remembered the strong, powerful mercenaries walking around with different types of flowers decorating their weapons and shields. 

“Oh, you don’t seem like the type to enjoy flowers. Do you have a favorite?” he asked, intrigued by what his professor had said.

“I wouldn’t say I have a favorite… but I think lilies are nice.”

“An exquisite flower. Fit for a beautiful woman such as yourself,” he said without thinking. Once he realized what he said, he blushed. He didn’t mean to say it, but he did find her beautiful. But he had a reputation to protect. He could be nice to commoner women, but he shouldn’t compliment them too much. He had to save his sweet words for nobler women. 

And yet, when he saw Byleth’s reaction, his heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. She laughed. Laughed! He didn’t think she was capable of this amount of emotion. It made his blush grow stronger. At least in his head he could admire her beauty. The way her usually cold face lit up a bit was enough to strike someone down. He had to cover his face to hide his embarrassment. 

She finally calmed down and said, “I wouldn’t call myself beautiful… but thank you for the compliment. It made my day.” 

“I’m sorry about that, Professor! I need to get going now. I have… some training to do! Farewell!” He blurted out, getting up and leaving. He felt bad to leave her to clean up, but he simply could not stay. How unnoble he was! To say such a thing to the mercenary and then leave her alone. 

~~~~~

Byleth watched her student run away. She shrugged and got to cleaning up the table. However, she was more worried about Lorenz. The guy was so self oppressing. She wished she could help him let loose, but she knew Claude and Hilda were enough to at least push Lorenz out of his comfort zone. 

She hoped this didn’t mean their tea times were over. While many didn’t like Lorenz and questioned why she spent so much time with him, she would gladly sit down with him. The noble life intrigued her even though she would never fit in. And despite his pompousness, Lorenz was a good friend when he wasn’t trying to act noble. She just wished he could someday find the confidence to be himself.


	2. The "Tortured" Poet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Byleth learns about Lorenz' poetry and asks to read some of it. Lorenz panics, but nevertheless complies.

“Hey teach, has Lorenz showed you any of his poetry yet?” 

When Claude had asked her the question, they were eating lunch with Hilda. He gave a suggestive look as Hilda laughed.

“You know how he is. The only reason we even know about it is because you stole his book of poems. Trust me professor, it’s just a bunch of angst with pretty words,” Hilda explains.

Byleth wasn’t surprised to hear that Lorenz wrote poetry like that. He was always so emotional even if it was hidden behind his prideful personality. She may not have known the extent, but even Raphael could see it. However, it was hard to feel pity when Lorenz would say things that pushed others away. As a professor, Byleth kept trying to help Lorenz genuinely open up, but he was far from being secure in himself. She had even asked the other teachers for advice, but Manuela was no help and Hanneman was uncomfortably too much help. 

His poetry, however, could be a good start. At least, that’s what Byleth thought. Maybe it would explain some things about Lorenz to her. She became eager to read his writing as she thought about it. 

“... What kind of poetry was it?” she asked. Claude and Hilda gave her a puzzled look.

“Wait you actually want to know?” Hilda asked, astonishment in her voice. 

“Yes.” 

“It was just some poem about himself. He only ever writes about himself,” Claude said, now beginning to realize the teacher’s goal. 

“Like what?”

“Just about him being trapped or something. I know why he writes like that but if you ask me, he acts like he faces a lot worse,” Claude explains, slight bitterness in his voice that’s heavily covered by a joking attitude. 

“I still want to read it,” Byleth says quietly to herself. She makes a note to ask Lorenz about it later. 

~~~

Byleth sees Lorenz later that day near the gazebo, looking contemplative. She almost doesn’t ask him about his poetry, but she figures it’s better to get it done now. As she approaches, Lorenz notices her presence and drops whatever deep thought he had.

“Hello professor. Do you need my help with anything?” He asks, politely smiling at her.

“I… I want to read your poetry.” She says, her face still holding her usual blank expression.

She doesn’t look shy or nervous and yet her way of speaking is slowed down. Lorenz never really understood why, but he never let it change his opinion of her. But now wasn’t the time to think about that. He immediately becomes bright red out of embarrassment.

“Oh professor, did Claude tell you about that? Damn him for prying into everything. While my writing is some of the best, it is not ready for other’s eyes. Just forget he said that!” Lorenz said clearly flustered. He wasn’t sure how to get himself out of this situation as the professor seemed unwilling to drop it.

“But… I’m interested in what you write about. I promise I won’t let Claude affect my feelings on it,” she said after putting much thought into her words. Her goal was to understand Lorenz more, and to do so, she needed to let him know that Claude had nothing to do with her interest. 

“Well, I don’t exactly have any on me at the moment. I would have to go get a piece from my room!” he explained. Part of him wanted to just show her the poetry, but the other part of him was afraid of ridicule. It was horrifying when people like Manuela and Claude read his writing, Byleth would cause him even more pain if she made fun of the work. 

“I can wait. Your poetry must be really pretty,” she said, offering him a comforting smile. 

He couldn’t deny that smile anything. Ever since that moment over tea he had found himself getting weak at it. Despite his efforts to quell his budding emotions, nothing could stop the way he felt whenever she smiled at him. He had to pull himself together just to tell her he’d be back soon. How pitiful he must look rushing to his room just to get a poem for his professor.

When he got there, he hurriedly skimmed through his better pieces looking for a piece that wasn’t too emotional but still showed his skills. In that moment, however, none of his pieces felt good enough to show the professor. He noticed too many spelling mistakes and horrible metaphors. But he couldn’t leave Byleth waiting, so Lorenz grabbed at the poem he felt would please his professor’s interest. 

Lorenz has been surprised to see Byleth had stayed where they were. A burst of pride hit him as he saw the slight eagerness in her expression upon noticing him. It was considered an accomplishment amongst students to get any kind of reaction out of the woman, but Lorenz didn’t care for such childish competitions. He’d rather keep the moment to himself.

“Can I read it… or should you read it out?” Byleth asked.

“Please read it to yourself. It’s a great work, but… I’ll admit hearing my work read allowed is uncomfortable,” Lorenz explained. Instead of asking for clarification, Byleth merely nodded and took the piece. 

Lorenz watched anxiously as she read through the piece. There wasn’t any emotion visible on her face as she seemed deep in thought. He tried to keep himself together, but he was worried the professor would make fun of him. He would have to run away from the monastery and become a hermit if she did. As he planned how his new life as a recluse would go, Byleth began to crack a small smile. It went unnoticed by Lorenz as he continued to worry until finally she announced that she was done.

“It was really pretty. I like the way you describe everything. Though..” Byleth started. Lorenz felt fear as she stopped to think.

“Though, I don’t really get it. It was a really great read I’m just not used to reading poetry. You must think I’m stupid,” she said, her expression showing a hint of sadness. 

“That’s fine! I’m just glad you liked it!” Lorenz stopped himself there. If it were anyone else, he may have tried to explain the piece, but it felt wrong. Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t all that horrible for a person to not get it. He would have to ponder that later.

“The second piece was complicated but very nice,” she said.

“Wait, the second piece? I only gave you one,” he said, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

“There was two here. They were titled ‘The Noble’s Journey’ and ‘The She-Wolf’,” she told him. 

Lorenz’ eyes widened in embarrassment. The former was intended to be the only piece he gave to her. Not only had he given her another poem, but it was perhaps the most revealing of his conflicted emotions toward his professor. He berated himself internally for being such a fool. Now he really would have to abscond from the monastery. 

“But the latter was so beautiful. Can you explain it to me?” Byleth asked. She could tell Lorenz was upset, but she assumed it was because he had brought over the wrong amount of poems. 

“W-well, you see! It’s about someone… yearning for something he can not have. He longs but he knows it can not be. That’s all I can really say,” he elaborates, still looking flustered. How the woman couldn’t tell who the poem was about was beyond him, but that did not matter. Lorenz realized that her understanding of a poem was rather unimportant. He was just glad this specific poem wouldn’t ruin their relationship. 

“I thought it might be about that, but I wasn’t sure. Even though I liked it… I can’t really act like I’m a master at this kind of stuff,” Byleth said.  
“As I said before, do not worry about that. You’re very talented in other areas, like sword fighting. I may be a skilled knight, but you are on a level more superior to anyone here,” he complimented her. 

“Thanks… I’m glad you let me read your poetry.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Byleth is dumbass lady representation.

**Author's Note:**

> I know Lorenz is a "joke character" but he's honestly great and I'm gonna write stuff for him.


End file.
